This book describes the pre-eminent achievement from the first years of collaboration between two great artists of the twentieth century, Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss. It explains how the poet drew upon a wealth of classical and literary sources to fashion his vivid characters, and how the composer further enhanced their lifelike charm in his potent and often magical score. An explanation of the psychological undertones of the libretto is supplemented by an appendix on Hofmannsthal's use of language. Critical comments and attacks on Der Rosenkavalier from its premiere to recent times are described and assessed, and the opera's stage history is recounted. The long central chapter of the book, adapted by Norman Del Mar from his celebrated three-volume study of the composer, combines musical analysis with a detailed synopsis. An appendix discusses versions of the opera as film and play. The book includes a bibliography and a detailed discography.

A full account of the making, during 1909-10, of Der Rosenkavalier with emphasis on its derivation from a French opérette of 1907, L'Ingenu libertin. L'Ingenu libertin was seen in Paris by Count Harry Kessler and formed the basis of the opera then to be written by Hofmannsthal and Strauss. Previous scholarship has credited the narrative and characters of Der Rosenkavalier to much older French sources known to and studied by Hofmannsthal, but this book shows clearly how every element in L'Ingenu libertin is in fact taken (and transformed) by Kessler and Hofmannsthal into the work that made fortunes for Hofmannsthal and Strauss, but left Kessler on the sidelines. Michael Reynolds casts a major new light on Strauss's most popular operatic success, highlighting in particular how it was that Hofmannsthal - who had not until then had any theatrical success as an original playwright - was advised and empowered by Kessler to produce a work that succeeded onstage from its very first performance and went rapidly on to conquer the stages of the world. Michael Reynolds is an established writer on opera, a translator and an online music critic, an interest that he sustained throughout thirty years in the world of international diplomacy. His previous book for Boydell, About Suffolk, was an anthology of writing about his adopted county.

Der Rosenkavalier has one of the longest and most exquisitely crafted texts of all opera. The depth and subtlety of the characterization can only be appreciated after a careful reading. Derrick Puffett notes that the sentimentality and parody of the subject perfectly matched Strauss's genius. Michael Kennedy's detailed musical commentary shows how the large orchestra is handled with exceptional skill. Peter Branscombe points out that Hofmannsthal set a new standard of libretto-writing and shows how the ideas in Der Rosenkavalier may be traced to his other works for the stage, in his prose and poetry. Contents: An Introduction to 'Der Rosenkavalier', Derrick Puffett; Comedy for Music, Michael Kennedy; Hugo von Hofinannsthal – Man of Letters, Peter Branscombe; Der Rosenkavalier: Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal; Der Rosenkavalier: English translation by Alfred Kalisch

A comprehensive guide to Richard Strauss' DER ROSENKAVALIER, featuring Principal Characters in the opera, Brief Story Synopsis, Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples, and an insightful and in depth Commentary and Analysis by Burton D. Fisher, noted opera author and lecturer.

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